Rev. Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping

Just weeks after Joel Osteen Ministries arrived in Albany to preach at the Times Union Arena, his alter ego, the Rev. Billy and the Choir of the Church of Earthalujah, will come to Skidmore College.

“Rev. Billy Preaches Stop Shopping Message,” billed as a spiritual/political revival, will be held at 3 p.m. April 15 in the Case Center. Admisson is free and open to the public.

So who is this Reverend and the Church of Stop Shopping? It’s based in New York City. It’s anti-consumerist, pro-environmental. Here’s a description from its website: “Above all we try to complexify the moment of purchase, to snap people out their hypnosis and back into the mystery of being human. We remind people that things come from somewhere, that products have a resource past, a labor past.”The Rev. Rick Chrisman, director of religious and spiritual life at Skidmore, explained why his office is sponsoring this event. “It’s so hard to find an activist minister in today’s churches that I’m willing to bring an actor who will impersonate one. Rev. Billy may be an actor but it’s no act. He preaches a bona fide spiritual message— being a slave to possessions hurts not only you, it hurts the earth. He sort of marries Jesus and Bill McKibben with an evangelical spirit, backed up by a big, lively choir. I like Rev. Billy because he unites inspiration (not religion) and politics, a necessary combination for the long-haul.

Rev. Billy will also visit The Sanctuary for Independent Media in Troy at 8 p.m. April 14, and at RPI in Troy at 7 p.m. April 16.